WO2018038119A1

WO2018038119A1 - Undersea mining base, mining base monitoring device, and chimney avoidance method for seabed deposit

Info

Publication number: WO2018038119A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/029984
Authority: WO
Inventors: 文雄湯浅; 喜保渡辺
Original assignee: 古河機械金属株式会社
Priority date: 2016-04-28
Filing date: 2017-08-22
Publication date: 2018-03-01
Also published as: US20190186225A1; US10781656B2; JP6859050B2; JP2017201116A; SG11201901362SA

Abstract

Provided is an undersea mining base that is capable of coping with slopes and undulations of a seabed deposit. This undersea mining base (20) is provided with a seabed mineral excavation device (30) that forms a pit in a seabed deposit (OD), and a platform (21) that has the seabed mineral excavation device (30) mounted thereon and that is capable of autonomous travel in at least one among an X direction and a Y direction.

Description

Undersea mining base, mining base monitoring device, and chimney avoidance method for submarine deposits

The present invention relates to a technique for mining seabed minerals.

In recent years, the price of useful metals, which are indispensable for manufacturing various industrial equipment and have a small abundance, has been rising. Useful metals are indispensable in the industry, but not only are the yields small, but geopolitical risks exist because of the limited production. Therefore, among the seabed minerals, useful metal-containing minerals present under the seabed have attracted attention.
Various surveys have revealed that useful minerals are present in seabed minerals at higher concentrations than minerals currently mined on the ground. Thus, in recent years, trial drilling has been conducted at various institutions, and various methods and systems for mining seabed minerals have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses a seabed mineral mining system. The mining system described in the document includes a seabed moving device having a grinding tool capable of grinding the surface of a seabed deposit. The seabed moving device grinds the surface of the seabed deposit by an open grinding tool while moving the seabed by receiving electric power and a control signal from a supply source on the sea surface side. The ground product produced by grinding is classified by classifying means so as not to exceed a predetermined size, and the classified ground product is transported to the sea.

JP 2013-528726 A

However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the crawler excavator is complicated to operate according to the undulations of the seabed and is difficult to automate. In addition, the seabed deposits have a problem that the sea mountain has a large inclination angle, and the soft ground deposited on the surface of the sea mountain hinders running on the crawler.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and provides an undersea mining base and a mining base monitoring device that can cope with inclination and undulation of a seabed deposit and a chimney avoidance method for a seabed deposit. Is an issue.

In order to solve the above problems, an underwater mining base according to one aspect of the present invention is provided with a submarine mineral that is placed in the sea and is erected on the seabed and is mined while forming a bottomed hole in the seabed deposit. An underwater mining base for recovering from within a bottomed hole, comprising: a seabed mineral mining device for forming a bottomed hole in a seabed deposit; and a platform equipped with the seabed mineral mining device, wherein the platform has a plurality of supports. Each of the support legs has a leg, and is configured to be capable of a relative slide movement individually in the Z direction via a movement mechanism in the vertical direction.

According to the subsea mining base according to one aspect of the present invention, the platform erected on the sea floor is equipped with a seabed mineral mining device and has a plurality of support legs, and each support leg moves in the vertical direction. Since it is configured to be capable of relative sliding movement individually in the Z direction via the mechanism, it is possible to cope with the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposit.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an underwater mining base according to another aspect of the present invention is disposed in the sea and is erected on the seabed, and is mined while forming a bottomed hole in the seafloor deposit. A submarine mining base for recovering submarine minerals from within a bottomed hole, and a submarine mineral mining device for forming a bottomed hole in a submarine deposit, and an X-direction and And a platform that can move by itself in at least one of the Y directions.

According to the subsea mining base according to another aspect of the present invention, the platform erected on the sea floor is equipped with a seabed mineral mining device and can move in at least one of the X direction and the Y direction. It can cope with the inclination and undulation of the deposit.

Here, in the subsea mining base according to another aspect of the present invention, the platform includes an upper platform, a lower platform, and an intermediate frame disposed between the upper and lower platforms, the intermediate frame and the The upper platform is configured to be capable of relative sliding movement in one direction via a horizontal movement mechanism, and the intermediate frame and the lower platform are configured to move through the horizontal movement mechanism. Each of the upper and lower platforms has a plurality of support legs, and each support leg has a Z-direction through a vertical movement mechanism. It is preferable that relative sliding movement is possible in each direction. Such a configuration is suitable for dealing with the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposit.

Also, in the subsea mining base according to any one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable to further include chimney detection means for detecting the chimney of the submarine deposit. With such a configuration, the chimney of the seabed deposit can be detected, which is more suitable for dealing with the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposit.

Furthermore, in order to solve the said subject, the mining base monitoring apparatus which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is equipped in the marine or land base in order to monitor the underwater mining base which concerns on any one aspect of this invention. A mining base monitoring device comprising chimney monitoring means for monitoring the chimney of the seabed deposit.
According to the mining base monitoring apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, when an operator monitors an underwater mining base at a sea or land base, the chimney of the seabed deposit can be monitored at the sea or land base. It can cope with the inclination and undulation of the deposit.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above-described problem, a chimney avoidance method for a seabed deposit according to one aspect of the present invention includes a working device that is used in a seabed deposit and performs a work necessary for mining while self-propelling the seabed. This is a method for avoiding interference with chimneys, including a chimney detection process for detecting chimneys of seabed deposits based on echoes obtained by underwater detection by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and chimney position information obtained in the chimney detection process. And an interference avoidance step for avoiding interference between the work device and the chimney.

According to the chimney avoidance method for seabed deposits according to one aspect of the present invention, chimneys of seabed deposits are detected based on echoes obtained by underwater detection by transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves, and the chimney position information obtained in the chimney detection process is detected. Based on this, interference between the working device and the chimney is avoided, so that it is possible to cope with the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposit.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to cope with the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposit.

It is a mimetic diagram explaining one embodiment of the whole composition of the mining system of the seabed mineral concerning one mode of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of an underwater mining base of the mining system of FIG. 1, in which (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view of one subsea mining base (however, the seabed deposit is an image of a cross section) In the following, the same applies to the front view)). It is a typical perspective view explaining 1st embodiment of the subsea mining base of FIG. It is a typical front view explaining the submarine mineral mining apparatus with which an underwater mining base is equipped. It is explanatory drawing (hammer advance state) of the mining apparatus main body of the seabed mineral mining apparatus of FIG. 4, The vertical cross section containing an axis line is shown in the same figure. It is explanatory drawing (hammer retreat state) of the mining apparatus main body of the seabed mineral mining apparatus of FIG. 4, In the same figure, the longitudinal cross section containing an axis line is shown. It is explanatory drawing of the submarine mineral mining method by the mining system of FIG. 1, The figure (a) is a front view of one submarine mining base, (b) is a plane view of one division of a submarine deposit, respectively. Show. It is explanatory drawing of the submarine mineral mining method by the mining system of FIG. 1, The figure (a) is a front view of one submarine mining base, (b) is a plane view of one division of a submarine deposit, respectively. Show. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the modification of the seabed mineral mining apparatus which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view ((a) to (c)) of a second embodiment of the subsea mining base according to one aspect of the present invention. It is a typical perspective view explaining 3rd embodiment of the subsea mining base which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention. It is a schematic plan view of the platform of the underwater mining base of the third embodiment. It is a typical front view of the platform of the underwater mining base of 3rd embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of the intermediate | middle frame of the subsea mining base of 3rd embodiment. It is a cross-sectional view of the support leg of the underwater mining base of the third embodiment. It is R section sectional drawing of FIG. It is S section sectional drawing of FIG. It is P section sectional drawing of FIG. It is Q section sectional drawing of FIG. It is a figure which shows the image of an example of the relative dimension of the undersea mining base of 3rd embodiment, and a seabed deposit (a chimney is included). It is a figure ((a), (b)) explaining one Embodiment of the bottoming method of the underwater mining base in the mining system of this invention. It is a figure ((a)-(d)) explaining one Embodiment of the bottoming method of the underwater mining base in the mining system of this invention. It is a figure explaining the procedure which mine a seabed deposit by the underwater mining base of 3rd embodiment. It is a figure explaining the walk operation (transition operation from a landing preparation posture to a mining start posture) of the submarine mining base platform in the mining procedure of FIG. It is a perspective view ((a)-(d)) explaining the walking operation of the underwater mining base of the third embodiment. FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 24 is a diagram ((a) to (c)) for explaining the walking operation of the platform of the underwater mining base in the mining procedure of FIG. FIG. 24 is a diagram ((a) to (f)) for explaining the walking operation of the platform of the underwater mining base in the mining procedure of FIG. FIG. 24 is a diagram ((a) to (c)) for explaining the walking operation of the platform of the underwater mining base in the mining procedure of FIG. FIG. 24 is a diagram ((a) to (c)) for explaining the walking operation of the platform of the underwater mining base in the mining procedure of FIG. It is a figure explaining one Embodiment of the mother ship for construction arrangement | positioning used with the mining system of this invention, The figure (a) is the top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a right view. It is a block diagram explaining the base control unit in 3rd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the chimney avoidance process which the base control unit shown in FIG. 35 performs. It is a block diagram explaining the mining base monitoring apparatus in 3rd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the mining base monitoring process which the mining base monitoring apparatus shown in FIG. 37 performs. It is a figure ((a), (b)) explaining the chimney avoidance operation | movement in 3rd embodiment, and the figure respond | corresponds to the state of the movement procedure shown in FIG. It is a figure ((a), (b)) explaining the chimney avoidance operation | movement in 3rd embodiment, and the figure respond | corresponds to the state of the movement procedure shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The drawings are schematic. For this reason, it should be noted that the relationship between the thickness and the planar dimension, the ratio, and the like are different from the actual ones, and the dimensional relationship and the ratio are different between the drawings. Further, the following embodiments exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention is the material, shape, structure, and arrangement of components. Etc. are not specified in the following embodiments.

First, the overall configuration of the mining system of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the mining system includes a mining mother ship 1 that is disposed on the sea SL as a marine mining base, and a mining station 20 and a pumping unit 4 that are disposed on the seabed SB. In this mining system, a plurality of mining stations 20 is used as an underwater mining base. Each mining station 20 is equipped with a plurality of submarine mineral mining devices 30 (hereinafter also referred to as “mining devices 30”).

Each mining device 30 is configured such that a dredging hole that is a bottomed hole can be formed by drilling in the seabed deposit OD. Each mining device 30 is configured to be able to mine seabed minerals in the form of a slurry in a pit. In this mining system, the slurry-like submarine minerals mined by each mining device 30 are transferred to the undersea mining unit 4 via the suction pipe 5, and the mining unit 4 passes through the mining pipe 6. The mining mother ship 1 is configured to be pumped.

Specifically, in the example of the present embodiment, the mining mother ship 1, the erection and placement mother ship 2, and the transport ship 3 are anchored at the sea SL in the target sea area. The construction placement mother ship 2 is a construction placement mother ship for transporting the pumping unit 4 and the plurality of mining stations 20 and for placing them on the seabed SB. The erection and placement mother ship 2 is equipped with a working machine 11 such as a crane for laying and placing the ore unit 4 and the mining station 20 on the seabed SB. The construction placement mother ship 2 transports the mining station 20 to a predetermined position of the seabed deposit OD, and hangs the mining station 20 with the wire 11w of the work machine 11 and stands on the seabed SB. Similarly, the erection and placement mother ship 2 arranges the ore unit 4 at an appropriate position on the seabed SB.

The mining mother ship 1 is equipped with a generator 12, a storage 13, and a management computer (not shown). The reservoir 13 is placed on the ship in a replaceable manner. The management computer and the generator 12 are connected to the mining station 20 and the mining unit 4 arranged on the seabed SB via the umbilical cable 8, and are necessary for the operation of the mining station 20 and the mining device 30 and the mining unit 4. Electric power and control signals can be supplied.

The pumping unit 4 includes a pumping pump 25 and a classifier 27 having a cyclone device. The classifier 27 is connected at its discharge side to the suction side of the pumping pump 25 inside the pumping unit 4. The suction side of the classifier 27 is connected to the mining station 20 via the suction pipe 5. The suction pipe 5 is filled with seawater. One end of the discharge pipe 7 is connected to the classifier 27, and the other end of the discharge pipe 7 is piped to a mineral return place that is not required for classification. Note that flexible pipes are used for the suction pipe 5, the pumping pipe 6, and the discharge pipe 7.

The pumping pump 25 is connected to the mining mother ship 1 through the pumping pipe 6. The pumping pipe 6 is a cylindrical pipe line having flexibility for pumping the slurry-like mineral mined at the mining station 20 to the mining mother ship 1. The pumping pipe 6 is filled with seawater. The upper part of the uplift pipe 6 reaches the mining mother ship 1 of the offshore SL and is connected to the reservoir 13 through the bottom of the mining mother ship 1. The reservoir 13 stores the slurry-like mineral pumped from the pumping pipe 6 by the pumping pump 25. The transport ship 3 replaces the reservoir 13 with the mining mother ship 1 and transfers the seabed minerals that have been pumped to the mining mother ship 1 to a necessary place.

Next, the mining station 20 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the mining station 20 has a base frame 21 having a rectangular frame shape serving as a platform. The base frame 21 is supported by a plurality of (four legs in this example) support legs 26 at the four corners of the frame. Each support leg 26 is fixed to the base frame 21 via a jack mechanism 49.

The jack mechanism 49 has a motor, a speed reduction mechanism, and a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown). The rack is formed along the axial direction of the support leg 26. The jack mechanism 49 can slide the support leg 26 in the vertical direction (Z direction) and can hold the movement position by driving the rack and pinion mechanism via a speed reduction mechanism with a motor. The jack mechanism 49 may be driven by fluid pressure (for example, hydraulic drive) or electric power (for example, an electromagnetic motor) (hereinafter, other drive motors). The same in).

In this example, as shown in FIG. 3, two moving frames 43 are stretched over the base frame 21 along the X direction. The moving frame 43 has, for example, a truss structure. Both ends of each moving frame 43 are supported by the base frame 21 via the Y-direction moving mechanism 44. The Y-direction moving mechanism 44 includes a motor, a speed reduction mechanism, and a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown). The moving frame 43 is moved along the base frame 21 by driving the rack and pinion mechanism via the speed reduction mechanism with the motor. The slide movement is possible in the Y direction.

A guide shell 48 is vertically arranged on each moving frame 43. The guide shell 48 constitutes a feed mechanism in the Z direction of the mining device 30. The guide shell 48 is supported by the moving frame 43 via the X-direction moving mechanism 52. The X-direction moving mechanism 52 includes a motor, a speed reduction mechanism, and a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown), and the guide shell 48 is moved along the moving frame 43 by driving the rack and pinion mechanism via the speed reduction mechanism. It can slide in the X direction.

Furthermore, the base frame 21 is provided with a base control unit 45 and a suction chamber 51. The umbilical cable 8 is connected to the base control unit 45. In order to drive the mining station 20 and the mining device 30, the base control unit 45 controls the operation of the high-pressure water supply pump, the motor that drives the high-pressure water supply pump (not shown), and the operation of the entire mining station 20. A control unit is built in.

Thereby, each mining station 20 receives supply of necessary power and control signals from the mining mother ship 1 via the umbilical cable 8 to the base control unit 45. The base control unit 45 functions as a controller that controls the attitude of the mining station 20 by driving each jack mechanism 49 based on a command from the management computer on the mining mother ship 1 side.

Furthermore, each mining station 20 moves the guide shell 48 in the X direction and the Y direction by driving the X direction moving mechanism 52 and the Y direction moving mechanism 44 by the base control unit 45 under the control of the management computer. By driving the high-pressure water supply pump, the taken seawater is supplied to the mining device 30 as high-pressure water, and the mining device 30 provided in the guide shell 48 can be driven.

Next, the mining apparatus 30 equipped in the mining station 20 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 4, the guide shell 48 is equipped with a mining device 30 via a slider 46. A slide moving mechanism 47 that slides the slider 46 in the Z direction along the guide shell 48 is provided above the guide shell 48. The slide moving mechanism 47 has a motor, a speed reduction mechanism, and a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown), and drives the rack and pinion mechanism via the speed reduction mechanism by the motor, thereby moving the slider 46 along the guide shell 48 in the Z direction. The slide can be moved.

The mining device 30 has a housing portion 71 attached to the slider 46. The housing portion 71 incorporates a rotation drive mechanism and a swivel (not shown). The upper part of the housing part 71 is connected to the high-pressure water supply pump of the base control unit 45 through the high-pressure water supply pipe 9. Further, one end of a suction pipe 5 for sucking slurry-like mineral mined by driving the mining device 30 is connected to the side surface of the housing portion 71. The other end of the suction pipe 5 is connected to the classifier 27 through the suction chamber 51.

Next, the configuration of the mining device main body of the mining device 30 will be described in more detail.
As shown in an enlarged view of the portion of the mining device main body in FIG. 5, the mining device 30 is equipped with the mining device main body 10 in a portion ahead of the double tube rod 40. The mining device main body 10 includes a cylindrical cylinder 31. A substantially cylindrical cylinder liner 33 is fitted on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 31. A water passage hole 32 is formed between the cylinder 31 and the cylinder liner 33 along the axial direction of the cylinder 31.

In the cylinder liner 33, a substantially cylindrical hammer 34 is slidably held. The rear end of the cylinder 31 is connected to the double tube rod 40 of the mining device 30 via a connecting member 35. The double tube rod 40 is composed of a double tube having an outer tube 40a and an inner tube 40b coaxially. A water supply path 40c is formed in a gap between the outer cylinder 40a and the inner cylinder 40b. The upstream side of the water supply path 40 c is connected to the high-pressure water supply pipe 9 through the swivel of the housing part 71. The high-pressure water supply pipe 9 is connected to the discharge side of the high-pressure water supply pump provided in the base control unit 45 of the mining station 20. The downstream side of the water supply path 40 c communicates with the water supply path 35 c inside the connecting member 35.

A cylinder bush 36 is inserted between the rear end side of the cylinder 31 and the front end surface of the connecting member 35. A ring 39 for forming a cylinder rear chamber 42 is inserted on the front side of the cylinder bush 36. Thus, a cylinder rear chamber 42 is defined between the ring 39 and the rear portion of the hammer 34. The cylinder bush 36 is provided with a communication hole 36c communicating with the water supply passage 35c along the axial direction.

A bit 50 that is a crushing tool for striking is attached to the front end of the cylinder 31. A cylinder front chamber 41 is defined between the rear end of the bit 50 and the front portion of the hammer 34. The bit 50 is mounted so as to block the front side surface of the cylinder front chamber 41 and to receive a striking force from the hammer 34 at its rear end so that it can reciprocate for a predetermined stroke in the axial direction. A plurality of

control grooves

34 a and 34 c and a communication channel 34 b are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hammer 34.

In the cylinder 31, a first water inlet hole 31 b is formed between the front side of the cylinder bush 36 and the ring 39. The first water inlet hole 31 b allows the communication hole 36 c of the cylinder bush 36 to communicate with the communication hole 33 e at the rear end of the cylinder liner 33. The communication hole 33 e of the cylinder liner 33 communicates with the water passage hole 32. The water passage hole 32 communicates the

control grooves

34a and 34c of the hammer 34 at the intended positions with the plurality of communication holes 33a to 33d of the cylinder liner 33 according to the position of the hammer 34 in the axial direction. The hammer reciprocating switching mechanism is configured to supply and discharge high-pressure water to the cylinder front chamber 41 or the cylinder rear chamber 42 so that the hammer 34 moves forward and backward in the cylinder 31.

Furthermore, a cylindrical sleeve 38 is provided coaxially with the cylinder 31 in the cylinder 31. In the sleeve 38, a suction hole 38t is formed so as to penetrate along the axial direction. In the sleeve 38, a step portion formed at the rear portion thereof is inserted into the cylinder bush 36 and the ring 39 so that the axial position is maintained. The rear end of the suction hole 38 t of the sleeve 38 communicates with the front end of the suction hole 40 t of the inner tube 40 b of the double tube rod 40 via the suction hole 35 t of the connecting member 35.

An intermediate portion of the sleeve 38 is inserted through a communication hole 34d formed through the hammer 34 with a gap therebetween, and a front end portion of the sleeve 38 is formed between the communication hole 50d formed through the bit 50 with a gap therebetween. Inserted. In the sleeve 38, a radial gap inserted into the hammer 34 and the bit 50 serves as a drainage passage 38 a from the cylinder front chamber 41 and the cylinder rear chamber 42.

The sleeve 38 is provided with a discharge hole 38g at a position on the tip side of the drainage passage 38a. The discharge hole 38 g is inclined rearward from the outer periphery of the sleeve 38 toward the central suction hole 38 t and toward the double tube rod 40. A flexible check valve 37 is attached to the suction hole 38t of the sleeve 38 at the outlet of the discharge hole 38g to prevent intrusion of earth and sand into the cylinder front chamber 41.

The water absorption hole 50k communicating with the suction hole 38t at the center of the sleeve 38 is opened at the front end of the bit 50. As a result, the mining device 30 generates a negative pressure in the water suction hole 50k due to the flow velocity of the high-pressure water discharged backward from the discharge hole 38g toward the suction hole 38t, and the seabed mineral sucked from the water suction hole 50k is It is mixed with seawater in the suction hole 38t.

Therefore, according to the mining device 30, the seabed mineral crushed by the drill holes can be sucked into the mining device 30 by the drainage flow and mixed with seawater inside the suction hole 38t to generate a slurry. Further, according to the mining device 30, the generated slurry can be recovered from the suction hole 40 t of the inner cylinder 40 b of the double tube rod 40. Further, the pump 25 for pumping is connected to the upper end of the inner cylinder 40b of the double pipe rod 40 via the suction pipe 5 and sucks the seabed minerals crushed by the drill holes from the water suction holes 50k of the bit 50, The mining mother ship 1 can be pumped.

Next, the procedure for pumping minerals from the seabed deposit OD by the above-described mining system, and the operation and effect of the seabed mineral mining system and the seabed mineral mining method by the mining apparatus 30 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the mining mother ship 1 and the erection and placement mother ship 2 are anchored on the sea SL in the target sea area. Next, using the work machine 11 such as a crane installed in the laying arrangement mother ship 2, the mining station 20 and the ore unit 4 are lowered into the sea, and the equipment of the seabed SB is arranged so that these equipments are arranged as shown in FIG. Install in an appropriate position. Prior to or after installation of these equipment, necessary piping and wiring such as the suction pipe 5, the pumping pipe 6 and the discharge pipe 7, and the umbilical cable 8 are performed, and each pipe is filled with seawater.

After the equipment is installed, necessary power and control signals are supplied from the mining mother ship 1 to the base control unit 45 and the mining unit 4 via the umbilical cable 8, and the mining station 20, the mining device 30 and the mining unit 4 are driven. Then, the seabed mineral is crushed while drilling the hole VH which is a bottomed hole in the seabed deposit OD. In this embodiment, when the mining station 20 is arranged on the seabed deposit OD, the support legs 26 at the four corners of the base frame 21 are jacked so that the posture of the base frame 21 is horizontal according to the uneven shape of the seabed SB. It is slid up and down by the mechanism 49.

Here, the high-pressure water supplied from the high-pressure water supply pump provided in the base frame 21 of the mining station 20 is between the inner tube 40b and the outer tube 40a of the double tube rod 40 of the mining device 30 in FIG. The water enters the water passage 32 through the water supply passage 40c, the water supply passage 35c of the connecting member 35, the first water introduction hole 31b, and the communication hole 33e.

The high-pressure water that has entered the water passage 32 is introduced into the hammer reciprocation switching mechanism. In the hammer reciprocation switching mechanism, the high-pressure water in the hammer forward state passes through the communication hole 33b of the cylinder liner 33, the control groove 34a, the communication holes 33c to 32L, and 33d in this order, and enters the cylinder front chamber 41 at the front end of the hammer 34. At this time, the control groove 34 c is blocked by the communication hole 33 a and the outer peripheral surface of the hammer 34. As a result, the hammer 34 moves backward (moves upward in FIG. 5).

As the hammer 34 moves backward, the seawater in the cylinder rear chamber 42 behind the hammer 34 passes through the drainage passage 38a and is discharged from the discharge hole 38g through the check valve 37 toward the suction hole 38t.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the hammer 34 reaches the retreat limit, the water passage hole 33 b formed in the cylinder liner 33 is blocked by the outer peripheral surface of the hammer 34. On the other hand, the water passage hole 33 a communicates with a control groove 34 c formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hammer 34. Therefore, the high-pressure water from the water passage hole 32 of the cylinder 31 flows into the cylinder rear chamber 42 on the rear side of the hammer 34.
Due to the flow of the high-pressure water into the cylinder rear chamber 42, the hammer 34 turns from backward to forward, and strikes the rear end face of the bit 50 at the desired strike position. The hit bit 50 applies an impact force to the hole surface drilled by the tip 50b at the tip, and crushes the seabed mineral.

As the high-pressure water continues to be supplied from the high-pressure water supply pump to the mining device 30, the hammer 34 repeatedly strikes the rear end surface of the bit 50 by the above-described reciprocating movement. Then, along with striking the drill surface with the bit 50, the feed mechanism 47 provided in the guide shell 48 drives the mining device 30, and the rotation mechanism of the housing portion 71 rotates the mining device 30. Is made.

Therefore, according to this mining device 30, it is possible to continue the mining of the seabed mineral while forming the pit VH by the hole drilled in the seabed deposit OD. And according to this mining apparatus 30, since the own mining apparatus main body 10 exists in the dredging hole VH, the drilling hole can be advanced while the opening side of the dredging hole VH is closed. Therefore, the crushed powder of the seabed mineral is prevented or suppressed from flowing into the sea. Therefore, suspension of seawater is prevented or suppressed (mining part, mining process).

According to the mining device 30, the water suction hole 50 k communicating with the suction hole 38 t of the sleeve 38 is opened at the front end of the bit 50, and the suction hole 38 t is directed toward the double tube rod 40. Since it is opened along the inclined discharge hole 38g, a negative pressure is generated in the water suction hole 50k due to the flow velocity of the high-pressure water passing through the suction hole 38t. Thereby, the seabed mineral crushed by the drill hole is sucked from the water suction hole 50k of the bit 50, and the sucked seabed mineral can be mixed with seawater in the suction hole 38t.

Here, when the holes are drilled by impact force, the crushed submarine minerals generated by the holes are very fine in particle size and uniform in particle size. Therefore, according to the mining device 30, the crushed seabed mineral generated by the drilling holes can be sucked by the action of the drainage flow to be a slurry mixed with seawater inside the suction hole 38 t of the mining device 30 (slurry generation). Part, slurry production step).

Further, according to the mining device 30, the suction hole 38 t of the sleeve 38 is directly introduced into the suction pipe 5 via the suction hole 40 t of the inner tube 40 b of the double tube rod 40, and the ore unit 4 is connected to the mining device 30. The slurry-like mineral mined in step 1 can be sucked from the suction pipe 5 together with seawater. Therefore, it is possible to prevent or suppress the slurry-like seabed mineral from flying up into the seawater and scattering (recovery unit, recovery process).

Next, the slurry-like mineral sucked through the suction pipe 5 is transferred to the classifier 27. The classifier 27 separates desired minerals from unnecessary minerals by centrifugal force due to the specific gravity difference of the mineral particles. As shown in FIG. 1, the minerals that are made unnecessary in the classification are guided to the seabed return place through the discharge pipe 7 connected to the classifier 27.
On the other hand, among the separated slurry-like minerals, a mineral having a desired specific gravity is sent to the pumping pump 25 and is pumped to the storage 13 of the mining mother ship 1 through the pumping pipe 6. In the mining mother ship 1, when storing in the reservoir 13, the slurry-like mineral is separated from seawater, the seabed mineral is stored inside the reservoir 13, and the separated seawater is discharged into the sea.

Each mining station 20 moves the mining device 30 in the XY plane after retreating the mining device 30 after mining up to the maximum drilling depth of each mining device 30, and as shown in FIG. -Drill holes sequentially to scan the entire Y plane. The movement in the XY plane and the drilled holes after the movement may be automatically performed by a computer (the management computer, the base control unit 45, etc.) as in this embodiment, or each mining station 20 The situation may be performed manually by the operator while the operator is monitoring from the offshore mining mother ship 1.

In particular, according to the mining station 20 provided with the mining device 30, the submarine mineral mining system, and the pumping method using these facilities, each mining station 20 has a plurality of support legs 26, and each support Since the legs 26 can be individually slid relative to each other in the Z direction via a jack mechanism 49 that is a moving mechanism in the vertical direction, the legs 26 can cope with the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposit. And when an operator performs manual operation, monitoring with a camera etc., since the scattering of the seabed mineral into seawater is prevented or suppressed, it is suitable when improving the efficiency of a mining operation.

Here, the mining station 20 can mine a wide range at the same time using a plurality of units as in the above embodiment, but the mining device 30 equipped in the mining station 20 also has a large diameter from a small diameter one. Various mining devices 30 can be used up to the required one.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, after mining at the mining station 20 equipped with the small-diameter mining device 30, the same area is equipped with the large-diameter mining device 30 as shown in FIG. Further mining can be performed at another mining station 20 or the same mining station 20 replaced with the large-diameter mining device 30.

Reference numerals

50 and 50B in FIG. 7 (a) and FIG. 8 mean that the entire mining device 30 corresponding to the small-diameter bit 50 or the large-diameter bit 50B is replaced, not only the bit. .

Thus, according to the mining station 20 provided with the mining device 30, the submarine mineral mining system, and the pumping method using these facilities, it is possible to cope with the inclination and undulation of the submarine deposit, and further in the form of slurry. Therefore, the seabed mineral is prevented or suppressed from flying up into the seawater and being scattered. Moreover, since the mining system of this embodiment introduce | transduces the slurry-like seabed mineral mined with the mining apparatus 30 directly into the suction pipe 5 from the inside of the pit VH, it prevents or suppresses scattering to the seawater at the time of pumping. be able to.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, a various deformation | transformation is possible unless it deviates from the meaning of this invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the mining mother ship 1 is described as an example of the offshore mining base. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a platform constructed on the sea may be used as long as it functions as an offshore mining base.

Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the slurry-like mineral is transported to the reservoir 13 provided in the mining mother ship 1 is described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the mineral mined on the sea floor is a bottomed hole. If it is transported directly from inside a certain pit VH, it may be pumped or stored or classified near the sea or below the sea surface (for example, a reservoir is provided near the bottom of the ship).

For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the hole VH is drilled as an example of the bottomed hole has been described. However, the direction of the axis of the bottomed hole according to the present invention is not limited to the vertical direction. That is, the present invention only needs to form a bottomed hole by drilling holes, make the seabed mineral a slurry inside the bottomed hole, and recover the slurry from the inside of the bottomed hole. Therefore, the bottomed hole according to the present invention may be a horizontal hole whose axis is horizontal, or the axis may be oblique.

Further, the method and apparatus for forming the pit hole VH are not limited to drilling holes by a striking mechanism, but may be drilling by a rotating mechanism. However, in order to make the mined mineral into a slurry and make the particle diameter very fine to make the particle size uniform, drilling by a striking mechanism is preferable instead of drilling.

In the above embodiment, for example, the pumping unit 4 has the classifier 27, and the classifier 27 classifies the slurry-like mineral in the sea. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention relates to the present invention. According to the mining device, the mined mineral is in the form of a slurry, and the particle diameter is very fine and the particle size becomes uniform. Therefore, the mining may be carried out without classifying the slurry-like seabed mineral.

Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the mining device 30 has been described as an example having the double tube rod 40 having the outer tube 40a and the inner tube 40b. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto, for example, as shown in FIG. The mining device may be configured using a single tube rod.
That is, as shown in the figure, this mining device 130 has a single-tube rod 57, and the mining device main body 100 is mounted in front of the rod 57. The mining device main body 100 has a cylinder 56 connected to the tip of a rod 57 by a taper screw portion 56a. A check valve 51, a hammer 54, and a bit 50 are housed in the cylinder 56 in order from above, and a cylinder front chamber 52 and a cylinder rear chamber 53 are defined before and after the hammer 54.

The high-pressure water that drives the mining device 130 is supplied to the housing portion 71 at the upper end of the rod 57 from the high-pressure water supply pump 9 through the high-pressure water supply pipe 9 as in the above embodiment. The supplied high-pressure water is supplied to the cylinder front chamber 52 or the cylinder front chamber 52 so as to move the hammer 54 back and forth in the cylinder 56 by a hammer reciprocating switching mechanism formed on the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the cylinder 56 and the hammer 54 as in the above embodiment. It is supplied to and discharged from the cylinder rear chamber 53. Further, the rod 57 is rotated and fed by the feed mechanism 47 installed on the guide shell 48 and the rotation mechanism of the housing portion 71 as in the above embodiment.

Here, the mining device 130 is provided on the cylinder 56 so that the foot pad 58 can be pressed toward the drilling hole and slidable along the axial direction so as to surround the periphery of the drilling hole. Yes. A suction pipe 5 for mining slurry as a seabed mineral resource is connected to the upper side surface of the foot pad 58.

In the mining device 130, the high-pressure water passes through the upper check valve 51, and is supplied and discharged to the cylinder front chamber 52 and the cylinder rear chamber 53 by the hammer reciprocating switching mechanism to drive the hammer 54 forward and backward. Drills a hole VH, which is a bottomed hole, in the seabed deposit OD by the impact of hitting the bit 50 (mining part, mining process).
The high-pressure water after hitting is discharged to the tip of the bit through a suction hole 50a provided in the shaft center of the bit 50. The seabed mineral mined by the drill hole is mixed with seawater in the pit VH to become a slurry (slurry Generating section, slurry generating step).

And the slurry produced | generated in the coffin hole VH is the clearance gap between the outer side of the cylinder 56, and a drill hole inner wall VHn, or the rod 57 outer side extended in the seawater in contact with the drill hole inner wall VHn, and the hole inner wall VHn. And is directly collected from the inside of the foot hole VH through the suction pipe 5 from the inside of the foot pad 58 (recovery unit, recovery process). Therefore, even if it is a structure like this mining apparatus 130, the scattering of the mining mineral in the sea can be prevented or suppressed.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the mining station 20 does not move in the horizontal direction as an underwater mining base has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. It can also be set as the structure which has the mechanism which can move to a direction.

Here, the main concept that has been proposed for the excavator for mining the mineral resources of the submarine deposit is the drum cutter mounted on the excavator while running on the crawler using a crawler type remote-controlled excavator. In this method, the seabed deposits are mined horizontally. This is hereinafter referred to as a horizontal mining system (HMS). HMS excels in mobility and portability and can be mined while freely traveling on the sea floor. On the other hand, HMS has problems to be solved in the following points (Problem 1) to (Problem 5).

(Problem 1) A large frictional force is required to ensure the mining reaction force of the drum cutter in the mining plane. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the weight of the excavator body.
(Problem 2) Ore crushed during drilling rises into the water, resulting in poor visibility. The operation of the HMS needs to be visually operated by a marine operator with a camera, which may affect the operation rate. In addition, there is a possibility that the load on the environment is large.
(Problem 3) An operation corresponding to the undulations of the seabed is necessary, and since excavation is performed while visually observing with a camera, complete automation is difficult.
(Problem 4) Climbing ability corresponding to the inclination angle of the mine is required. Even if the ground is not sloping, the crawler may be hindered if the seabed is soft.
(Problem 5) Although depending on the shape of the drum cutter, it is said that SCU (Subsea Crushing Unit) is necessary because the size of the mined ore is not uniform.

Thus, the HMS, which is a crawler excavator, is complicated to operate according to the undulations of the seabed and is difficult to automate. In addition, seabed deposits have a large inclination angle, and crawlers are hindered on soft ground with surface deposits. In particular, in the submarine hydrothermal deposit, there are many chimneys (chimney-like hot water ejection protrusions) from which hot water erupts in the seamount, and it is difficult to avoid such chimneys. Therefore, the present inventors have invented the first embodiment, which is a vertical mining system (VMS), as a system different from HMS in order to solve such problems of HMS.

The merits of VMS can be summarized as at least the following (Effect 1) to (Effect 4).
(Effect 1) Since the ore is crushed into a very fine powder, SCU (Subsea Crushing Unit) may be omitted.
(Effect 2) Since the seabed deposits are mined vertically, the ore crushed by mining is sucked out using the flow line as in the case of riser drilling, and there is little scattering to the environment. For this reason, the load on the environment is small, and poor visibility can be prevented when an operator monitors from the sea with a camera.
(Effect 3) Since the section (predetermined range) at the bottom position can be mined, it can be automatically mined without a problem of visibility according to a predetermined program.
(Effect 4) While being erected on the seabed, each support leg can be individually slid in the Z direction via a vertical movement mechanism, so that it may be difficult to apply in HMS. Applicable to seabed shape and soft ground.

However, the mining station 20 of the first embodiment needs to be newly installed in the next adjacent section after the first section has been mined. That is, the mining station 20 of the first embodiment requires an installation movement ship (IRV) each time a jack-up platform is installed and moved.

Therefore, it takes a lot of time and cost to lift, move and settle the VMS by IRV. In addition, since the IRV is always used during the mining period, the charter cost is high. On the other hand, the second and third embodiments to be described below solve this problem, and are VMS that can move by itself in at least one of the X direction and the Y direction, that is, a self-propelled vertical for developing submarine mineral resources. It is a mining system.

Specifically, the mining station 120 according to the second embodiment includes, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), three mining stations including a first base frame 21A, a second base frame 21B, and a third base frame 21M. It consists of a base frame.

The first base frame 21A and the second base frame 21B are each made of a U-shaped frame. The first and second frames 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B are respectively provided with support legs 26 at two corners having a U-shape via a jack mechanism 49 as in the above embodiment. The U-shaped width of the first base frame 21A is narrower than the U-shaped width of the second base frame 21B.

The first base frame 21A and the second base frame 21B are opposed to each other so that the U-shaped opening portions of the

frames

21A and 21B can be combined. The horizontal frames of the

mutual frames

21A and 21B are engaged with each other on a facing surface via a first rack and pinion mechanism (not shown) and a first slide guide device such as a linear guide. By driving the first rack and pinion mechanism with a motor, it can slide relative to the X direction.

The third base frame 21M is formed in an I shape from a vertical frame extending in the Y direction. The third base frame 21M is provided with support legs 26 at both ends of the I-shape via jack mechanisms 49 as in the above embodiment. The third base frame 21M includes a Y-direction moving mechanism and a guide shell 48, and the guide shell 48 can be slid along the moving frame 43 in the Y direction. The guide shell 48 is equipped with a mining device similar to the above embodiment.

The third base frame 21M is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal frame with respect to the first base frame 21A and the second base frame 21B. The third base frame 21M is opposed to the horizontal frames of the first and

second frames

21A and 21B via a second slide guide device such as a second rack and pinion mechanism and a linear guide (not shown). The second rack and pinion mechanism is driven by a second motor (not shown) so as to be relatively slidable in the X direction.

When moving in the mining station 120, as shown in FIG. 5B, first, the jack mechanism 49 of the first base frame 21A is driven to drive the two support legs of the first base frame 21A. 26 is moved upward to be in an unsupported state. Next, the first rack and pinion mechanism is driven by the first motor, thereby causing the first base frame 21A to slide relative to the second base frame 21B in the positive direction of the X direction. After the slide movement, the first motor is stopped, the jack mechanism 49 is driven, and the two support legs 26 of the first base frame 21A are moved downward to be in the support state.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, first, the jack mechanism 49 of the second base frame 21B is driven, and the two support legs 26 of the second base frame 21B are moved upward to be unsupported. State. Next, the first rack and pinion mechanism is driven by the first motor, thereby causing the second base frame 21B to slide relative to the first base frame 21A in the positive direction of the X direction. After the slide movement, the first motor is stopped, the jack mechanism 49 is driven, and the two support legs 26 of the second base frame 21B are moved downward to be in the support state.

Next, the jack mechanism 49 of the third base frame 21M is driven, and the two support legs 26 of the third base frame 21M are moved upward to be in an unsupported state. Next, the second rack and pinion mechanism is driven by the second motor, whereby the third base frame 21M is made to be relative to the first and second base frames 21A and 21B in the positive direction of the X direction. Slide. After the slide movement, the second motor is stopped, the jack mechanism 49 is driven, and the two support legs 26 of the third base frame 21M are moved downward to be in the support state. As a result, the entire three

base frames

21A, 21B, and 21M are in the state shown in FIG.

Therefore, according to the mining station 120, the entire mining station 120 can be moved in the X direction by moving the three

base frames

21A, 21B, and 21M sequentially as described above. When the slide is moved, the base frames 21A and 21B are overhanging in a cantilever state, but the horizontal posture is maintained because the base frames 21A and 21B are engaged with each other on the opposing surface via the slide guide device.

As in the first embodiment, the third base frame 21M has a Y-direction moving mechanism, and the guide shell 48 can be slid along the moving frame 43 in the Y direction. Since the mining device 30 similar to the above embodiment is equipped, the mining device 30 can be driven while appropriately moving in the Y direction at the timing when the third base frame 21M is not moved.

Therefore, even in such a configuration, the mining device 30 can be moved in the X direction and the Y direction, and the dredging hole that is a bottomed hole is formed by drilling while corresponding to the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposit. The seabed mineral can be mined, and the seabed mineral can be made into a slurry in the pothole, and the slurry can be directly recovered from the inside of the pothole.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The third embodiment is a self-propelled vertical mining system for developing submarine mineral resources, in which a mining station can be moved in the X and Y directions, and in particular, a self-propelled submarine drilling machine equipped with a vertical hole drill This is an example of an underwater mining base.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic perspective view of the entire mining station of the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, the mining station 220 includes a mining device 30 and a platform 21 capable of self-propelling in the X direction and the Y direction. The platform 21 is provided between the upper platform 21X and the upper platform 21X having a rectangular frame shape in plan view and the lower platform 21Y having a rectangular frame shape in plan view. Has an intermediate frame (Middle frame) 21M having a rectangular frame shape.

The mining station 220 of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the platform 21 and the moving mechanism in the X direction and the Y direction included in the platform 21. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the platform 21 and its movement mechanism in the X direction and the Y direction will be described below, and description of other mechanisms will be omitted as appropriate.

Hereinafter, the movement mechanism of the mining station 220 of the third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 12 and 13 show the bottoming preparation posture of the platform 21 when the mining station 220 is bottomed from the laying arrangement mother ship 2 to the seabed deposit OD. In this case, the center (center of gravity) G in the horizontal plane of the upper platform 21X, the intermediate frame 21M, and the lower platform 21Y coincides. In FIG. 13, reference sign CL indicates the central axis of each support leg 26.

As shown in FIG. 12, the upper platform 21X has a rectangular frame shape in plan view, and is separated in the Y direction from a pair of vertical girder Xb having a rectangular cylindrical shape that is spaced apart in the X direction and provided in parallel with each other. And a pair of horizontal girders Xa having a rectangular cylindrical shape provided in parallel with each other. On each outer side surface of the two horizontal girders Xa, X moving racks Rx are respectively attached symmetrically from the center along the extending direction of the horizontal girder Xa.

In addition, as shown in the figure, the lower platform 21Y has a rectangular frame shape in plan view, and a pair of horizontal girders Yb that are formed in parallel with each other and separated in the X direction, and in the Y direction. It has a pair of vertical girder Ya which forms a rectangular cylinder which is spaced apart and provided in parallel. On the outer side surfaces of the two vertical girders Ya, Y moving racks Ry are respectively attached symmetrically from the center along the extending direction of the vertical girders Ya.

As shown in FIG. 14, the intermediate frame 21 </ b> M has a rectangular frame shape in plan view, and is separated in the Y direction from a pair of vertical girders Mb that are formed in parallel with each other and separated in the X direction. And a pair of horizontal girders Ma having a rectangular cylindrical shape provided in parallel with each other. X drive motors Mx are respectively arranged in the rectangular cylinders of the horizontal girders Ma at the center position in the extending direction of the horizontal girders Ma of the intermediate frame 21M. In addition, Y drive motors My are respectively arranged in the rectangular cylinders of the vertical girders Mb at the center position in the extending direction of the vertical girders Mb of the intermediate frame 21M.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, each of the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y includes four support legs 26 and a jack mechanism 49 capable of raising and lowering each support leg 26, like the platform of the first embodiment. It is a jack-up platform. The intermediate frame 21M and the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y are supported so as to be slidable via the linear motion guide mechanisms shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, and the rack and pinion mechanisms shown in FIGS. And is configured to be relatively slidable in the X and Y directions orthogonal to each other on a horizontal plane.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the platform 21 of the third embodiment has support legs 26 at the four corners of the rectangular frame of the upper platform 21X and at the four corners of the rectangular frame of the lower platform 21Y. Have Each support leg 26 is provided with a jack mechanism 49, which is a Z-direction slide movement mechanism, as an elevating jacking unit.

The jack mechanism 49 of the third embodiment is equipped with two in total, one on each side of each support leg 26, and each support leg 26 has two Z-moving racks Rz as shown in FIG. The support legs 26 are respectively attached at positions facing each other in the circumferential direction along the axial direction.

The jack mechanism 49 corresponding to each Z movement rack Rz has a Z drive motor (not shown), a pinion mounted on the output shaft of the Z drive motor, and the Z movement rack Rz meshed with the pinion. A rack and pinion mechanism is configured. As a result, the support legs 26 slide relative to the

platforms

21X and 21Y on which they are mounted in the Z direction, and the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y are raised and lowered by the cooperation of the plurality of support legs 26. The descent is possible.

As shown in FIG. 16, the linear guide mechanism of the upper platform 21X has a skid rail Sx attached to the bottom surface of the horizontal girder Xa of the upper platform 21X along the extending direction of the horizontal girder Xa. The skid rail Sx is attached from end to end of the upper platform 21X along the lateral girder Xa of the upper platform 21X.

The upper and lower sides of the skid rail Sx are guided by, for example, a bearing plate Bx of about 200 mm × 200 mm. The bearing plate Bx is attached to the upper surface of the corner portion of the horizontal girder Ma of the intermediate frame 21M. Further, a holding claw Hx is attached at the same position as the arrangement position of the bearing plate Bx so as to cover the skid rail Sx from the left and right. The holding claw Hx supports the skid rail Sx from both sides so as to prevent the upper platform 21X from falling when the upper platform 21X moves in the X direction.

As shown in FIG. 18, an X movement pinion Px is mounted on the drive shaft of the X drive motor Mx, and projects to a position facing the rack surface of the X movement rack Rx. The two X movement pinions Px are respectively meshed with the X movement rack Rx and driven synchronously by the X drive motor Mx, so that the upper platform 21X can slide in the X direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, the linear guide mechanism of the lower platform 21Y has a skid rail Sy attached to the upper surface of the vertical girder Ya of the lower platform 21Y along the extending direction of the vertical girder Ya. The skid rail Sy is attached from end to end of the vertical girder Ya of the lower platform 21Y.

As with the upper platform 21X, the lower platform 21Y has a bearing plate By attached to the lower surface of the corner portion of the vertical girder Mb of the intermediate frame 21M, and guides the skid rail Sy up and down by the bearing plate By. In addition, a holding claw Hy is attached at the same position as the bearing plate By so as to cover the skid rail Sy from the left and right, and when the lower platform 21Y moves in the Y direction, the skid is prevented from falling. The rail Sy is supported from both sides.

As shown in FIG. 19, a Y movement pinion Py is mounted on the drive shaft of the Y drive motor My and protrudes to a position facing the rack surface of the Y movement rack Ry. The two Y movement pinions Py are respectively meshed with the Y movement rack Ry and driven synchronously by the Y drive motor My, so that the lower platform 21Y can slide in the Y direction.

Thereby, the mining station 220 of the third embodiment includes a slide movement mechanism that slides the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y in the X direction and the Y direction, and a slide movement mechanism that slides each support leg 26 in the Z direction. According to the procedure of the walking control process described later, the predetermined mining area is walked in the X direction and the Y direction, respectively, and the mining device 30 is moved in the X direction and the Y direction to sequentially excavate predetermined sections.

In the third embodiment, the intermediate frame 21M and the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y are examples capable of moving in the horizontal direction via a rack and pinion mechanism, but the moving mechanism is not limited to this, Any moving mechanism that can move in the horizontal direction can be used.
For example, a moving mechanism that slides by a hydraulic cylinder method can be used. Similarly, each support leg 26 is shown as an example capable of relative sliding movement in the Z direction via a rack and pinion mechanism, but is not limited to this, and may be a moving mechanism that slides in a hydraulic cylinder system, for example. it can. Moreover, it is not limited to a hydraulic drive, It is good also as an electric drive type.

Here, in the third embodiment, as the specifications of the mining station 220, the total production capacity (Dry SMS) is 2,000,000 t / year (6,600 t / day), and the density is 3 to 5 (t / m ^3). ), The volume of 6600 / 5-6600 / 3 = 1320-2200 m ³ is assumed, and the size of the predetermined area (section) excavated by one mining station 220 is determined to be about 10 m × 10 m. Further, the mining device 30 has a configuration capable of excavating to a depth of about 20 m.

Therefore, in the third embodiment, in view of the above production capacity, one mining station 220 excavates one section of a predetermined area having a depth of 20 m on one day. Moreover, in 3rd embodiment, the movement of the platform 21 to an adjacent division can be completed in a short time by making the mining station 220 self-propelled. Therefore, it is also considered to excavate a predetermined area having a depth of 10 m per day into two sections.

Specifically, when the width occupied by the moving mechanism 52 and the mining device 30 shown in the first embodiment is 3 m, the size of the excavation section serving as the predetermined area is 10 m × 10 m. It is necessary to set the size of the inner excavation area to 13 m × 10 m. In addition, as load conditions, the shape dimensions of the upper platform 21X, the lower platform 21Y, and the intermediate frame 21M were set in consideration of towing, hanging, and working.

The shape and dimensions of the support leg 26 are as follows. When the total length in the axial direction of the support leg 26 is 30 m, as shown in the cross section of the support leg 26 in FIG. From the load condition, the outer diameter D of the support leg 26 was set to 1000 mm.
Further, in FIG. 12, the length Lx in the X direction inside the girder of the upper platform 21X and the width Ly in the Y direction of the upper platform 21X were set to 23 m and 10 m, respectively, based on the load conditions during towing, hanging and working. The width Wg and thickness Dg of the girder itself of the upper platform 21X were 1 m and 2 m, respectively.

In the same figure, the length Lx in the X direction inside the girder of the lower platform 21Y and the width Ly in the Y direction were 13 m and 20 m, respectively. Further, the width Wg and the thickness Dg of the girder itself of the lower platform 21Y were 1 m and 2 m, respectively. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the intermediate frame 21M has a length Lx in the X direction inside the girder of the intermediate frame 21M and a width Ly in the Y direction of 13 m and 10 m, respectively.

In addition, the width Wg and the thickness Dg of the girder itself of the intermediate frame 21M are both 1 m. In the rack and pinion mechanism shown in FIG. 16, the length of the rack was about 10 m. In the rack and pinion mechanism shown in FIG. 17, the length of the rack was about 10 m.

In the plan view shown in FIG. 12, the size of the rectangular portion inside the central frame in the state where the upper platform 21X, the lower platform 21Y, and the intermediate frame 21M overlap each other is 13 m × 10 m. Since the width of the moving mechanism 52 and the mining device 30 is 3 m, the size of the predetermined section that can be excavated is 10 m × 10 m. FIG. 20 shows an image of the relative size at the seabed deposit OD of the mining station 220 that is placed in the sea and is erected on the seafloor and has the pit VH formed in the seabed deposit OD at the above set dimensions. Show. In addition, the code | symbol C in the same figure is the image of the chimney which exists in the seabed deposit OD.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the mining station 220 of the third embodiment includes a base control unit 45 for controlling the mining station 220 itself on the upper platform 21X. The base control unit 45 of the third embodiment has an inclination sensor that detects the attitude of the platform 21.

Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the jack mechanism 49 that drives each support leg 26 is equipped with a torque detector (not shown). Each torque detector is a torque meter that can detect the torque of each drive motor that drives the pinion of the rack and pinion mechanism of each corresponding jack mechanism 49. Each torque detector can detect the motor torque at any time of each drive motor and can output the detected torque information to the base control unit 45.

The base control unit 45 is a controller (control unit) of the mining station itself including a computer and a program for executing the attitude stabilization control process. The base control unit 45 executes walking control processing of the mining station 220, mining control processing of the mining station 220, attitude control of the mining station 220, and other necessary processing.
When the attitude control process of the mining station 220 is executed, the base control unit 45 determines the degree of the imbalance of the attitude of the mining station 220 itself based on the output of the tilt sensor, and drives the pinion of the rack and pinion mechanism. Posture stability control is performed to maintain posture stability by adjusting each drive motor.

In addition, the base control unit 45 is equipped with the tilt arrangement detected by the tilt sensor and the motor torque information obtained by detecting the torque of the motors of the plurality of support legs 26 in the laying arrangement mother ship 2 that is a towing ship at sea. Output to the management computer. The management computer is configured to be able to display tilt information and motor torque information at any time on the display to the operator.

Next, the stabilization seating method of the mining station 220 of 3rd embodiment is demonstrated with reference suitably to FIG. 21 and FIG.
In the case where the mining station 220 is suspended from the laying mother ship 2 which is a towing vessel on the sea and suspended on the sea floor by a hanging rope, the mining station 220 first has a bottoming ready posture shown in FIG. State. As shown in FIG. 21A, the operator suspends the mining station 220 from the erection placement mother ship 2 with a rope.

As shown in FIG. 22A, the operator lowers the mining station 220 to the desired position of the seabed deposit OD while paying attention to the drooping depth. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the operator stops the suspension when the response of the motor torque of at least three of the plurality of support legs 26 is detected. However, the seating position is changed when one of the support legs 26 is seated and the pre-defined inclination angle is exceeded before the other three legs are seated. This suspension operation may be manually operated by the operator via the management computer, or may be automatically controlled by the management computer and the base control unit 45. For example, the base control unit 45 of the mining station 220 executes the posture stability control when acquiring the end information (sitting information) of the suspension operation.

That is, the base control unit 45 expands and contracts the bottomed support leg 26 so that the attitude of the mining station 220 is horizontal, as shown in FIG. Based on the motor torque information, the base control unit 45 extends the support legs 26 that are not bottomed, and controls and bottoms the motor legs so that the motor torques of the support legs 26 are substantially balanced. When the base control unit 45 determines that the attitude of the mining station 220 is horizontal, the base control unit 45 transmits the end information of the attitude stabilization control to the management computer of the laying arrangement mother ship 2.

The operator of the erection placement mother ship 2 monitors the status of the mining station 220 from the display of the management computer, and after confirming the end information of the posture stabilization control, as shown in FIG. The command is input from the management computer. At this time, the posture of the mining station 220 may become unstable due to fluctuations in tension of the hanging rope. Therefore, the base control unit 45 continuously executes the posture stabilization control.

That is, the base control unit 45 adjusts the leg length of each support leg 26 so that the attitude of the mining station 220 is horizontal based on the attitude detection information of the inclination sensor. As a result, the mining station 220 can land in a stable posture on the seabed in the initial bottoming state shown in FIG. Thereafter, the operator releases the engagement of the suspension rope with a suspension rope disengagement device (not shown), and, as shown in FIG. Form VH and start mining. Note that the configuration of the management computer and the base control unit 45 including the stabilization seating control and the stabilization seating method can be similarly applied to the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above.

Next, a self-propelled method of the mining station 220 of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 to 33 as appropriate. Here, as an example, as shown in FIG. 23, a procedure for mining a 40 × 40 m seabed deposit OD by self-running and excavation of the mining station 220 will be described. The self-running operation of the mining station 220 described below is performed based on a predetermined program executed by the base control unit 45 under the monitoring of the management computer, but is not limited to this, and is performed manually by an operator. Also good.

(Procedure 1) Preparation Step In the initial bottoming state shown in FIG. 22 (d), the mining station 220 has the relative positions of the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y in the bottoming ready posture shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. All support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X and the lower platform 21Y are grounded.
Therefore, when receiving the mining preparation instruction from the management computer, the base control unit 45 firstly, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 24, from the bottom preparation posture of FIG. 26 is once removed from the bottom, and the upper platform 21X is moved fully in the positive direction of X while the intermediate frame 21M and the lower platform 21Y are coupled. Thereafter, the base control unit 45 bottoms all the support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X and sets the mining start state as shown in FIG. Thereby, the predetermined area | region inside the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y becomes the 1st division A shown in FIG.

(Procedure 2) Walking and excavation in the positive direction of X (Procedure 2-1) In the first section A, the base control unit 45 of the mining station 220 receives the mining start command from the management computer, and then the intermediate frame 21M A predetermined area (10 m × 10 m) inside is mined. At the time of mining in one section, the base control unit 45 stops the walking of the mining station 220, and the predetermined area of 10 × 10 m inside the intermediate frame 21M is X of the mining device 30 by the method shown in FIG. Mining is carried out by excavating sequentially by movement in the direction and the Y direction (the same applies hereinafter).

(Procedure 2-2) After completing the intended mining in the first section A, the base control unit 45 moves the predetermined area inside the intermediate frame 21M to the position corresponding to the second section B shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 25A to 25D, each part is driven and controlled, and the platform 21 is moved as shown in FIG.
That is, in the state where the mining of the first section A is completed, as shown in FIG. 26, all the support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X and the lower platform 21Y are bottomed.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 27, the base control unit 45 first leaves the four support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y while keeping the support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X bottomed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 30 (b), the base control unit 45 moves the lower platform 21Y and the intermediate frame 21M to the full forward direction of X in a state where the lower platform 21Y and the intermediate frame 21M are coupled. . After that, as shown in FIG. 29, the base control unit 45 extends the four support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y downward and bottoms them. As a result, as shown in FIG. 30C, a predetermined area inside the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y becomes the second section B shown in FIG.

(Procedure 2-3) In the second section B, when receiving the mining start command from the management computer, the base control unit 45 of the mining station 220 mines a predetermined area inside the intermediate frame 21M.
(Procedure 2-4) When the intended mining in the second section B is finished (FIG. 30 (c)), the base control unit 45 keeps the support leg 26 of the lower platform 21Y on the bottom platform, The four support legs 26 of 21X are removed from the bottom, and then, with the lower platform 21Y and the intermediate frame 21M coupled, the upper platform 21X is moved fully in the positive direction of X as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the four support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X are grounded.

Next, the base control unit 45 leaves the four support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y while keeping the support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X bottomed, and connects the lower platform 21Y and the intermediate frame 21M in the state shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 31 (b), the lower platform 21Y and the intermediate frame 21M are moved fully in the X direction. Thereafter, the four support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y are extended downward and are respectively bottomed. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 31C, the predetermined area inside the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y becomes the third section C shown in FIG.

(Procedure 2-5) In the same manner, after completing the intended mining in the third section C, the base control unit 45 keeps the support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y on the bottom platform 21X. The support legs 26 are removed from the bottom, and then the upper platform 21X and the intermediate frame 21M are moved to the full forward direction of X as shown in FIG. .

Next, the base control unit 45 leaves the support leg 26 of the lower platform 21Y while keeping the support leg 26 of the upper platform 21X bottomed, and then connects the lower platform 21Y and MF in FIG. As shown in e), the lower platform 21Y and the intermediate frame 21M are moved to the full forward direction of X. Thereafter, the support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y are grounded. As a result, as shown in FIG. 31 (f), a predetermined area inside the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y becomes the fourth section D shown in FIG.
(Procedure 2-6) In the fourth section D, the base control unit 45 receives a mining start command from the management computer, and mines a predetermined area inside the intermediate frame 21M.
(Procedure 2-7) The steps (2-4) to (2-6) are repeated in the same way for walking and excavating X in the positive direction.

(Procedure 3) Y traveling in the positive direction and excavation Next, a procedure for moving in the Y direction from the state of (Procedure 2-4) in (Procedure 1) described above will be described.
(Procedure 3-1) When moving the mining station 220 in the Y direction from the state shown in FIG. 31 (f), the base control unit 45 keeps the support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X on the bottom platform. The four support legs 26 of 21Y are removed from the bottom, and then, with the upper platform 21X and the intermediate frame 21M coupled, the lower platform 21Y is moved fully in the positive direction of Y as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the four support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y are grounded.

(Procedure 3-2) After that, the base control unit 45 leaves the four support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X while keeping the support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y bottomed, and then the upper platform 21X and the intermediate frame With the 21M fixed, the upper platform 21X and the intermediate frame 21M are moved fully in the Y direction as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the four support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X are grounded.

(Procedure 3-3) Next, the base control unit 45 leaves the four support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y while keeping the support legs 26 of the upper platform 21X bottomed, and removes the upper platform 21X and the intermediate frame 21M. In the coupled state, as shown in FIG. 32C, the lower platform 21Y is moved in the positive direction of Y to a position where the plane center of the lower platform 21Y coincides with the plane centers of the upper platform 21X and the intermediate frame 21M.
Thereafter, the base control unit 45 bottoms the four support legs 26 of the lower platform 21Y. Thereby, the predetermined area inside the upper and

lower platforms

21X and 21Y becomes the fifth section E shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 33, in the fifth section E, when receiving the mining start command from the management computer, the base control unit 45 mines a predetermined area inside the intermediate frame 21M.

(4) Repetition As shown in FIGS. 33 (a) to 33 (c), when moving in the negative direction of X, the same procedure as in the positive direction of X may be performed in the reverse direction. Until the end of the excavation of the area (40 × 40 m), the above-described operations (procedure 2) and (procedure 3) are repeated. For traveling in the X direction, the procedure for the positive and negative directions of X may be executed alternately.

As described above, according to the mining station 220 of the third embodiment, the mining station can be repositioned by making the mining station 220 self-propelled in addition to being able to cope with the inclination and undulation of the seabed deposits. It is possible to greatly reduce the state in which the construction placement mother ship 2 which is a support ship to be used is unnecessary or needs to be used. Therefore, the construction period and cost of the project can be greatly reduced.

In the first embodiment, the erection and placement mother ship 2 is an example of a large ship that carries the mining unit 4 and the plurality of mining stations 20 as shown in FIG. 1, but is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 34, a small erection and placement mother ship 2 can be used.
The erection and placement mother ship 2 shown in the figure has a rectangular frame-shaped hull in plan view, and the left and right sides of the hull are floating bodies 2f. In plan view, the center of the hull is a rectangular moon pool 2p, and the crane 11 is straddled on the hull so as to straddle the moon pool 2p.
On the deck of the hull, a living room 2h and a storage room 2s are provided, and a winch 11w is equipped at an appropriate place, and the mining station 220 can be suspended from the moon pool 2p and can be lifted. In addition, the code | symbol D and U of the same figure (c) have shown the image which can hang | hang the mining station 220 and can lift.

It is to be noted that the size of the mother ship 2 for erection and arrangement is suitable if the mining station 220 of the third embodiment is erected and arranged to have a total length of 72 m × total width of about 48 m and the size of the moon pool 2p is about 30 m × 33 m. It is. The use of such a small laying arrangement mother ship 2 is more preferable in terms of cost reduction because the cost of the support ship itself, the chartering cost when moored at sea, etc. can be reduced.

Here, there is a chimney (a chimney-like hot-water ejection protrusion) from which hot water from the seamount erupts. Therefore, when the

mining stations

20, 120, and 220 of the above embodiments are erected on the seabed, and when the walking operations of the

mining stations

120 and 220 of the second to third embodiments are performed, the mining station and the chimney It is necessary to prevent or suppress interference with obstacles such as. Therefore, hereinafter, the mining station including the chimney monitoring means, the mining base monitoring device, and the chimney avoidance method will be described.

In the mining station 220 of the third embodiment, the base control unit 45 includes a chimney detector 91 as shown in FIG. The chimney detection unit 91 is chimney detection means for detecting the chimney of the seabed deposit. The chimney detection unit 91 includes an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 92 and a detection unit 93 that detects chimney based on echoes obtained by underwater detection using ultrasonic waves.

The ultrasonic transmission unit 92 emits ultrasonic waves from the base side toward the seabed deposit, immediately switches to the reception state, and receives the reflected wave from the seabed deposit. The detection unit 94 measures the round trip time from the time when the ultrasonic wave is emitted to the time when the reflected wave is received, converts the round trip time into a distance, measures the distance from the mining station 220 to the chimney, and Detect interface state and presence of chimney.

The chimney detection means shown in FIG. 35 is a searchlight type sonar (multi-beam sonar) in which a drive unit 90 is attached to a chimney detection unit 91. The chimney detection unit 91 is provided, for example, at the highest proper position in the center of the platform 21, and the chimney detection unit 91 rotates 360 ° on the horizontal plane by the drive unit 90 while searching at a predetermined viewing angle. Is done. As a result, the entire circumference of the mining station 220 can be detected.
Note that the installation location of the chimney detection unit 91 is not limited to “the highest appropriate place in the center of the platform 21”, and can be installed at other positions of the mining station 220 as long as the intended search is possible. For example, a chimney detector 91 may be provided on the surface of the platform 21 facing the deposit. In this case, the unevenness of the ore deposit can be detected by measuring the height of the lower part of the platform 21 and the surrounding terrain including the support leg 26 and the guide shell 48 from the surface facing the deposit side of the platform 21.

Note that the chimney detection means is not limited to the search light type sonar, and for example, a scanning type sonar may be used. Scanning sonar can detect the entire 360 degree circumference of the mining station 220 at once. Moreover, although the mining station 220 of 3rd embodiment demonstrated the example provided with the chimney detection part 91 using an ultrasonic wave as a chimney detection means, it is not restricted to this, Chimney is detected using light as a chimney detection means. It may be detected. For example, the base control unit 45 may include an image processing unit that detects the chimney of the seabed deposit with a camera or an image sensor.

Furthermore, the mining station 220 of the third embodiment is configured such that the base control unit 45 executes avoidance control that avoids the detected chimney.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 35, the base control unit 45 uses the

torque detectors

52x, 44y, 47z, 71r, 9p, Mx, My, and Mz for the torque of the motor that drives each of the moving mechanisms described above. Monitoring is possible by obtaining from the detection value of (49). The base control unit 45 is configured to be able to execute a program for chimney avoidance processing.

In the figure, reference numeral 52x denotes a torque detector attached to the motor of the X-direction moving mechanism 52, reference numeral 44y denotes a torque detector attached to the motor of the Y-direction moving mechanism 44, and reference numeral 47z denotes A torque detector attached to the motor of the slide moving mechanism 47, reference numeral 71r is a torque detector attached to the rotation drive mechanism of the housing part 71, and reference numeral 9p is a drive part of the high-pressure water supply pump of the high-pressure water supply pipe 9. Reference numerals Mx, My, Mz (49) are attached to the X drive motor Mx, the Y drive motor My, and the motor of the jack mechanism 49, respectively.

Specifically, when the chimney avoidance process is executed in the base control unit 45, the process proceeds to step S21 as shown in FIG. 36, and in step S21, torque detectors attached to the X drive motor Mx and the Y drive motor My are detected. Check motor torque based on If the torque is in the normal value range (Yes), the process proceeds to the subsequent step S22, and if the torque is an abnormal value, that is, if the monitored torque exceeds a predetermined value (No), the corresponding moving mechanism is in contact with the chimney. Determination is made and the process proceeds to step S26.
In step S22, the presence / absence of an avoidance command (for example, manual operation by the operator) from the mining base monitoring device 80 is confirmed. If there is an avoidance command (Yes), the process is returned and control according to the avoidance command is performed. If there is no (No), the process proceeds to the following step S23.

In step S23, the echo image information detected by the chimney detection unit 91 is acquired. In subsequent step S24, the position information of the chimney detected by the chimney detection unit 91 is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, a process of associating the position information of the mining station 220 with the position information of the chimney is performed. In this associating process, the relative distance is calculated by comparing the position information of each part of the mining station 220 itself and the interface information between the position information of the chimneys, and if the relative distance is closer than a predetermined threshold, it is determined as an obstacle. .
For example, when the chimney detector 91 is mounted on the surface of the platform 21 facing the deposit, the height difference from the set height of the platform 21 can be determined from the position information of its own support leg 26 and guide shell 48. Furthermore, the obstacle can be determined from the moving direction of the mining station 220.

In subsequent step S26, avoidance control is executed. The avoidance control is a process for avoiding chimneys determined as obstacles among the detected chimneys. For example, when the process proceeds from step S21, the torque returns to a normal value range for any of the drive motors Mx and My that have been determined that the monitored torque has exceeded a predetermined value as an avoidance measure when contacting an obstacle. Until then, the control to drive the corresponding motor in the reverse direction is performed.

For example, if excavation of the planned mining area (40 × 40m) is performed, and there is a chimney that is determined to be an obstacle in the planned mining area, avoidance measures when no obstacle is in contact with the obstacle As a result, a detour program for detouring the corresponding section as a whole is executed to avoid the chimney determined as an obstacle. Further, as a countermeasure for avoiding contact with an obstacle, the walking process of the mining station 220 itself may be controlled by interruption or low-speed driving, and the process may proceed to step S27 to wait for an operator's instruction.

When waiting for an operator's instruction as an avoidance response at the time of non-contact, the process proceeds to step S27, and detection information including the position information of the chimney determined as an obstacle is output to the mining base monitoring device 80. Thereby, the operator who is monitoring by the mining base monitoring device 80 can appropriately manually operate the mining station 220 in consideration of the image display on the display of the mining base monitoring device 80, the interface information, the information on the relative distance, and the like.
Here, when the operator performs avoidance measures at the time of non-contact, for example, the chimney detection unit 91 on the bottom surface of the platform 21 determines the height of the terrain from the bottom information including the position information of the support leg 26 and the guide shell 48 of the mining station 220. It is preferable to detect the unevenness of the ore deposit by measuring and to manually avoid the chimney by referring to the ultrasonic image and the image captured by the camera.

The reason for this is that, generally, the error when measuring a seafloor base with a depth of 2 km with sonar from the sea is about 20 m (1% of the water depth), and the assumed size of the mining station 220 is about 20 m. On the other hand, the chimney detection unit 91 mounted on the mining station 220 has sufficient resolution to detect the chimney. For this reason, simply collating images measured simultaneously on the sea and the sea floor is because correction processing may be difficult. Moreover, it is because the collation with the detailed image (map) previously obtained near the seabed and the seabed measurement image may be difficult simply if there is no feature in the topography.

The position and direction of the mining station 220 are measured using ultrasonic waves that connect the mining mother ship 1 or the laying mother ship 2 and the mining station 220 as a marine base, a gyro equipped in the mining station 220, and a depth meter. It is preferable to increase the accuracy. Alternatively, when the mining station 220 is introduced from the marine base, it is preferable that the input position is measured by GPS, and the route to be seated on the sea floor is measured by an inertial sensor mounted on the mining station 220. In the movement process of walking on the sea floor from the seabed seating start point, it is preferable to integrate from the mechanical movement amount and movement direction of the seabed base.
In a succeeding step S28, it is determined whether or not the detection information is reacquired. That is, if a command for reacquiring detection information is input from an offshore operator, the process returns to step S21; otherwise, the process returns to the main control process.

Next, the mining base monitoring apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 37 and 38 as appropriate.
The mining base monitoring device 80 shown in FIG. 37 corresponds to the management computer installed in the mining mother ship 1 or the construction placement mother ship 2 that serves as a maritime base in order to monitor the mining station 220. In addition, although this embodiment demonstrates the example which equipped the mining base monitoring apparatus 80 in the sea base, it is not limited to this, The operator who equips the land base with the mining base monitoring apparatus 80, and monitors it is not a sea base. It can also be monitored at remote land bases.

As shown in FIG. 37, the mining base monitoring device 80 according to the third embodiment is a mining station position monitoring means including a control unit 81, a display unit 86, an input unit 87, and an underwater detection device 82, and also chimney monitoring. It is also a means. The control unit 81 includes software necessary for chimney monitoring processing and a computer that is a hardware resource that specifically executes information processing by the software. The control unit 81 is communicably connected to the base control unit 45 via the umbilical cable 8 and can perform necessary data communication with respect to the display unit 86 such as a display and the input unit 87 such as a keyboard via a signal line. Connected. The display unit 86 is configured to be able to display the position information of the mining station 220 and the chimney echo image on the monitoring screen.

The underwater detection device 82 includes an ultrasonic transmitter 83 provided in the mining station 220, an ultrasonic receiver 84 and a detection unit 85 provided at three locations on the bottom of the mining mother ship 1 or the laying mother ship 2. For example, the position information of the mining station can be obtained by the same technology as SSBL (Super Short Base Line).

In the case of performing chimney monitoring, when an operator performs a predetermined input operation from the input unit 87 of the mining base monitoring device 80, chimney monitoring processing is executed, and the control unit 81 of the mining base monitoring device 80, as shown in FIG. First, the process proceeds to step S11, and the seafloor map information of the corresponding sea area is read from the seafloor map database stored in advance in the storage device of the computer and the process proceeds to step S12. In subsequent steps S12 to S13, the chimney echo image information detected by the chimney detection unit 91 of the base control unit 45 and the position information of the chimney are acquired (corresponding to the chimney information acquisition unit).

In subsequent step S14, the position information of the underwater mining base including information such as the attitude of the mining station 220 acquired from the base control unit 45 is acquired. The base control unit 45 includes a three-dimensional gyro sensor, and uses the initial position information when the mining station 220 is suspended from the laying mother ship 2 as a reference to change the relative position of the mining station 220 thereafter. Based on this, position information of the mining station 220 in the sea can be generated at any time.

And in step S15, based on the acquired image information and position information of the chimney and position information of the mining station 220, an association process with the seafloor map information of the corresponding sea area is performed. Thereby, the position information of the mining station 220, the echo image of the chimney and the position information of the chimney are associated with the seabed map information of the corresponding sea area. In subsequent step S16, an image based on the associated data is superimposed and displayed on the display unit 86 which is a monitoring screen.

Thus, the operator visually confirms the position of the mining station 220 in the sea and the image thereof, and the position of the chimney and the image thereof with respect to the seafloor map of the corresponding sea area, using the image superimposed on the display unit 86. Monitoring is possible (corresponding to the display composition unit). The control unit 81 moves the seabed map and the chimney echo image superimposed on the display unit 86 in accordance with the movement of the mining station 220.
Thereby, the image image at any time while the mining station 220 is walking can always be displayed on the display unit 86. The position information of the chimney and the mining station 220 includes latitude information and longitude information, and includes depth information of the chimney and the mining station 220. As a result, more accurate exploration is possible. Moreover, it is suitable for accurately determining the interface state.

In the subsequent step S17, a failure determination process is executed. In the failure determination process, a chimney that is a failure to the mining station 220 is determined from the position information of the associated chimney and the position information of the mining station 220 ( Corresponds to the determination unit). In the failure determination process, among the plurality of chimneys displayed on the monitoring screen of the display unit 86, for example, based on the moving direction of the mining station 220, the chimney closest to the mining station 220 is determined to be a chimney that becomes a failure.

When the chimney is determined to be an obstacle, for example, the display image of the chimney is changed from a normal color (for example, blue) to a warning color (for example, red), or displayed brighter than other chimneys, or blinked. For example, a warning display for calling attention to the operator is performed.
In the subsequent step S18, it is checked whether or not the operator has performed a re-exploration request input operation from the input unit 87. If there is a re-exploration request (Yes), the process returns to step S12, otherwise (No) to step S14. The processing is returned and information other than the position information of the mining station 220 is continuously used.

Next, a chimney avoidance method will be described with reference to FIGS.
As described above, in the third embodiment, the mining station 220, which is a working device, is configured such that the base control unit 45 includes the chimney detection unit 91, and the mining mother ship 1 or the construction placement mother ship 2 is the mining base. Since the monitoring device 80 is provided, a chimney that becomes an obstacle can be avoided with the configuration of the third embodiment.

In other words, as described above, the base control unit 45 executes the avoidance control to avoid the detected chimney, and the chimney detection unit 91 performs the underwater detection by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, as described above. Since the chimney of the ore deposit is detected (chimney detection process) and avoidance control is performed to avoid the chimney determined as an obstacle based on the detected position information of the chimney, interference with the chimney that is an obstacle can be avoided. (Interference avoidance process).

As described in the avoidance control in step S26, when there is a chimney determined as an obstacle in the planned mining area, a bypass program that bypasses the corresponding area as a whole is executed and determined as an obstacle. If the chimney is avoided, interference with the chimney as an obstacle can be avoided in advance, as shown in FIG. Further, even when the walking process of the mining station 220 is interrupted and the operator's instruction is waited for, interference with the chimney that becomes an obstacle can be avoided in advance.

On the other hand, as explained in the avoidance control in step S26, the base control unit 45 monitors the motor torque of the drive mechanism such as the drive motors Mx and My related to walking, and therefore can be avoided in advance for some reason. Even when there is not, interference with the chimney as an obstacle can be automatically avoided afterwards. In other words, even if mining is performed by automatic control not instructed by the operator, or if the operator accidentally performs a manual operation and the mining station 220 contacts the chimney (obstacle), the chimney It is possible to prevent or suppress excessive collisions.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 40, an image of ex-post evasion is shown. In FIG. 40, while the lower platform 21Y is moving in the X direction (the arrow with the symbol M is an image of movement), the support leg 26 is attached to the chimney C. Suppose that touches.
At this time, an abnormal torque is generated in the Y drive motor My that drives the lower platform 21Y. Therefore, the torque detector of the Y drive motor My immediately outputs an abnormal value. Thereby, the base control unit 45 determines that the moving mechanism corresponding to the Y drive motor My has contacted the chimney (“No” in step S21 in FIG. 36), and the torque of the Y drive motor My is normal by the avoidance control. The corresponding Y drive motor My can be driven in reverse until it returns to the value range (step S26 in FIG. 36). Therefore, even when it contacts the chimney, excessive collision with the chimney can be prevented or suppressed.

Furthermore, the operator of the mining mother ship 1 or the laying arrangement mother ship 2 causes the mining base monitoring device 80 to perform chimney monitoring processing. Thereby, the mining base monitoring device 80 detects the chimney of the seabed deposit based on the echo obtained by the underwater detection by the transmission and reception of the ultrasonic wave of the chimney detection unit 91 (chimney detection process), and the display unit 86 which is a monitoring screen While displaying the seabed map, the echo image of the mining station 220 and the chimney can be displayed in a superimposed manner, including the display of the failure determination.
Therefore, the operator monitors the state of the underwater mining station 220 at any time, and if it is determined that there is a possibility that the chimney interferes with the mining station 220 based on the detected position information of the chimney, Interference with the chimney can be avoided in advance (interference avoidance process).

1 Mining mother ship (offshore mining base)
2 Mothership for installation and placement 3 Transport ship 4 Pumping unit 5 Suction pipe 6 Pumping pipe 7 Discharge pipe 8 Umbilical cable 9 High pressure water supply pipe 10 Mining equipment body 11 Working machine 12 Generator 13

Storage machine

20, 120, 220 Mining station ( Underwater mining base)
21 Base frame (platform)
25 Pump for pumping 26 Support leg 27 Classifier 30 Mining equipment 31 Cylinder 32 Water passage hole 33 Cylinder liner 34 Hammer 35 Connecting member 36 Cylinder bushing 37 Check valve 38 Sleeve 39 Ring 40 Double pipe rod 41 Cylinder front chamber 42 Cylinder rear Chamber 43 Moving frame 45 Base control unit (controller)
48 Guide Shell 49 Jack Mechanism 50 Bit 71 Housing Unit 80 Mining Base Monitoring Device 81 Control Unit 82 Underwater Detection Device 83 Ultrasonic Transmitter 84 Ultrasonic Receiver 85 Detection Unit 86 Display Unit 87 Input Unit 90 Drive Unit 91 Chimney Detection Unit 92 Ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 93 Detection unit SL Marine SB Submarine OD Submarine deposit VH Cave (bottomed hole)

Claims

An underwater mining base that is located in the sea and is erected on the sea floor and collects the seabed minerals mined while forming a bottomed hole in the seabed deposit,
A seabed mineral mining device for forming a bottomed hole in the seabed deposit, and a platform equipped with the seabed mineral mining device,
The platform has a plurality of support legs, and each support leg is configured to be capable of individually sliding relative to the Z direction via a vertical movement mechanism. .
An underwater mining base that is located in the sea and is erected on the sea floor and collects the seabed minerals mined while forming a bottomed hole in the seabed deposit,
A submarine mineral mining device that forms a bottomed hole in a submarine deposit, and a platform that is equipped with the submarine mineral mining device and that is movable in at least one of the X and Y directions perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane. Characteristic underwater mining base.
The platform has an upper platform, a lower platform, and an intermediate frame disposed between the upper and lower platforms,
The intermediate frame and the upper platform are configured to be capable of relative sliding movement in one direction via a horizontal movement mechanism,
The intermediate frame and the lower platform are configured to be capable of relative sliding movement in another direction orthogonal to the one direction via a horizontal movement mechanism,
3. Each of the upper and lower platforms has a plurality of support legs, and each support leg is configured to be individually slidable in the Z direction via a vertical movement mechanism. Underwater mining base.
A moving frame mounted on the upper platform or the lower platform and movable by a moving mechanism;
The submarine mineral mining device is attached to the moving frame so as to be movable in at least one of an X direction and a Y direction orthogonal to each other on a horizontal plane along the equipped platform by driving the moving mechanism. The listed underwater mining base.
The submarine mineral mining device includes a guide shell fixed to the moving frame and extending in the vertical direction, a feeding mechanism attached to the upper part of the guide shell, and a driving mechanism coupled to the feeding mechanism. The underwater mining base according to claim 4, comprising a mining device main body that moves up and down along the guide shell, and a rotation mechanism that is connected to a rod of the mining device main body and rotates the mining device main body together with the rod.
The underwater mining according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the support leg is fixed to the moving frame via a jack mechanism capable of sliding the support leg up and down and holding the movement position. base.
7. The moving frame according to claim 4, wherein the moving frame includes a plurality of frames that are slidably movable in the horizontal direction and a moving mechanism that slides the plurality of frames in the horizontal direction. The listed underwater mining base.
The underwater mining base according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a controller that controls all or any of the moving mechanisms installed in the platform.
A tilt sensor is further provided as an underwater posture stabilization mechanism,
The controller determines the degree of imbalance of the posture of the base itself based on the output of the tilt sensor, and controls the movement mechanism of each supporting leg in the vertical direction to maintain the posture stability of the base itself. The underwater mining base according to claim 8, which executes control.
The submarine mining base according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising chimney detection means for detecting the chimney of the submarine deposit.
The underwater mining base according to claim 10, wherein the chimney detection means includes an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that transmits / receives an ultrasonic wave and a detection unit that detects the chimney based on an echo obtained by underwater detection using ultrasonic waves.
The submarine mining base according to claim 10, wherein the chimney detection means includes an image processing unit that detects the chimney of the submarine deposit with a camera or an image sensor.
The underwater mining base according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the controller executes avoidance control to avoid the detected chimney.
Each moving mechanism equipped on the platform is driven by a motor,
The controller monitors the torque of a motor that drives each moving mechanism, and when the monitored torque exceeds a predetermined value, determines that the corresponding moving mechanism has contacted the chimney and executes the avoidance control. 13. Underwater mining base according to 13.
A mining base monitoring device equipped on a marine or land base for monitoring the subsea mining base according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
A mining base monitoring apparatus comprising chimney monitoring means for monitoring the chimney of the seabed deposit.
The mining base monitoring apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the chimney monitoring means includes a display unit that displays an echo image of the chimney on a monitoring screen.
The chimney monitoring means includes a chimney information acquisition unit that acquires the detected echo image of the chimney and the position information of the chimney, and an association between seabed map information acquired in advance based on the acquired position information The display composition part which superimposes and displays the echo image of the said chimney with a submarine map on the above-mentioned surveillance screen, and the judgment part which judges the chimney which becomes an obstacle to the underwater mining base on the monitoring screen. Mining base monitoring equipment.
The mining base monitoring apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the position information includes latitude information and longitude information.
The mining base monitoring device according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the position information includes depth information of the chimney.
The determination unit determines a chimney closest to the subsea mining base as a chimney that becomes an obstacle based on a moving direction of the subsea mining base among a plurality of chimneys displayed on the monitoring screen. The mining base monitoring device according to any one of the above.
The mining according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the display synthesis unit moves the seabed map and the chimney echo image superimposed on the monitoring screen in accordance with the movement of the subsea mining base. Base monitoring device.
A method of avoiding interference between a working device that is used in a submarine deposit and performs the work necessary for mining while self-propelled on the seabed, and a chimney of the submarine deposit,
Chimney detection process for detecting chimneys in seabed deposits based on echoes obtained by underwater detection by transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves, and avoiding interference between the working device and chimneys based on chimney position information obtained in the chimney detection process A method of avoiding interference, and a chimney avoidance method for a submarine deposit.